FLYING FINISH; Low cost flights OVER says airline boss Walsh.Byline: BY EOIN EOIN End of Instruction REYNOLDS THE era of cheap flights is over, former Aer Lingus Aer Lingus is Ireland's national airline. Based in Dublin, it operates 41 Airbus aircraft serving Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East. The airline is 28% owned by the Irish government; it was floated on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges on 2 October 2006, chief Willie Walsh Willie Walsh (born in 1961) is an Irish airline executive. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of British Airways and is a former Chief Executive of Aer Lingus Early life Walsh was born in Dublin, Ireland. He attended his local secondary school Ardscoil Rís. warned yesterday. Surging oil prices have put an end to the days of travelling around Europe for less than the price of a train ticket across Ireland. The gloomsday scenario was painted by the man who transformed Aer Lingus from a rip-off semi-state dinosaur into one of Europe's top airlines. Now boss of British Airways, Walsh said said airlines like Ryanair and easyJet will no longer be able to offer low-cost flights, even for those booking well in advance. He added: "This is about whether airlines can survive. If you look at lowcost carriers around Europe, a lot of them have not been able to make money when oil was EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 80 a barrel." Crude rose this week pushed past a record EUR135 a barrel before dipping only slightly yesterday. Just 12 months ago oil traded at EUR65 and analysts warned if it reached EUR100 there would be a crisis. With that record now well and truly broken economists are predicting a gloomy future. Ryanair and Aer Lingus have controversially driven up prices in recently. Baggage handling and check-in fees are higher than ever prompting consumer champion Dermot Jewell to dub advertised airline fares a "fantasy". And many travellers have complained that flights advertised as low-fares turn out to be anything but after extra charges. Mr Walsh said people will inevitably cut out regular short trips and long-haul destinations made popular by cheap flights will once again become unviable. The biggest sign yet of the global travel downturn was American Airlines' announcement this week that it is to cut routes. The world's biggest carrier, which also announced job losses, blamed rising fuel prices. Fuel accounts for around a third of airline costs. Airlines such as Ryanair were able to offer lower fares by slashing other overheads. But Mr Walsh said there is nothing they can do to reduce fuel costs. CAPTION(S): TOUGH TIMES Willie Walsh |
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